2018 is our 25th year, and - amazon s3 › us-website-content › downloa… · on creating...

2018 is our 25th year, and it's a good time to reflect on the past while we apply ourselves to the challenges of the future.

Our updated brand book shows us how we will continue communicating what we've been saying and doing for years.

Lister Mills, Bradford

02/03 INTRODUC TION

"We will leave this city not less, but greater and more beautiful than it was left to us." – Oath sworn by the citizens of Ancient Athens

Park Hill, Sheffield

We’re entrepreneurial enthusiasts –

Who we are 08 – 09 How we behave

12 – 13 Our golden rules 14 – 15 How we're different

16 – 25 Transformations 26 – 27 Our history

we breathe new life into buildings and places we love.

06/07 SEC TION 01

A wise head As our stature has grown – so has our wisdom, only by learning through our mistakes and embracing imperfection can we arrive at where we are today. We’re well travelled and like to bring good ideas to the table so we’re serious about embracing culture and collaboration – giving us a cosmopolitan take on creating neighbourhoods. 25 years brings maturity and the confidence to be understated – to let our brilliant products, people and places be the focus. Striving for better is something we believe in and think our customers deserve.

Original thinkers We’re all about innovation; from the design focus of our products and places, to the way we conduct business. We do things our way and make places that are full of character. Using our imagination is key to developing visionary schemes and evolving a brand that people see as iconic. Creating structure and stability within our towns and cities and inspiring people to live well is what drives us on.

We're always brave. We're creative from the ground up. We're constantly learning.

Rebel at heart We have an edge – we’re natural risk takers; looking at things from another angle is something we do daily. We don't like to hear "it will never work".Changing our industry for the better has been a real buzz from day one – and, we admit, flouting the rules gives us a kick. Idiosyncratic, distinctive, unconventional – but only because we like to forge our own radical path and seek adventure. Doing things our way allows us to be bold and challenge conventions, to leave our positive mark on the world makes us proud.

08/09 HOW WE BEHAVE

House, New Islington

Leaving our positive mark on the world makes us proud.

OUR GOLDEN RULES

Whatever we’re doing, as individuals and as a company, we always look for the best way of doing it. And if someone else can do it better, we invite them to work with us. We always start with a vision in mind; if you don’t know your destination, you’ll never get there. We don’t wait and see; we start early and take risks.

We always question convention; there’s always a better, more efficient way. We set trends; we never jump on bandwagons. We prefer talent to experience; we only hire the best. We expect everybody in the company to make a difference; if they’re not doing that they don’t belong here.

Where other property companies see risks, we see opportunities. Where they follow the rules, we follow our instincts. Where others see the chance for a quick profit, we see a fair deal and the long-term rewards of regeneration.

We see things differently.

Where they see the same old boxes, we see striking, sustainable architecture. Where they see ‘residential and commercial units', we see homes and businesses. Where they see problems, we see places.

HOW WE'RE DIFFERENT 14/15

It’s what we do.

TRANSFORMATIONS 16/17

Albert Mill, Manchester

Matchworks, Liverpool

Brewhouse, Royal William Yard, Plymouth

Britannia Mills, Manchester

1994 Schoolhouse, Manchester

2002 Timber Wharf, Manchester

2009 Midland Hotel, Morecambe

1993 Concert Square, Liverpool

2000 New Islington, Manchester

2001 Box Works, Manchester

2010 Mills Bakery, Royal William Yard, Plymouth

2003 Budenburg Haus Projekte, Altrincham

2011 Lakeshore, Bristol

2004 Lister Mills, Bradford

2012 Saxton, Leeds

Our first 25 yearsWe like to talk about our past projects because actions speak louder than words.

2013 Park Hill, Sheffield

2008 Longlands, Stalybridge

1999 Matchworks, Liverpool

2006 Chimney Pot Park, Salford

2014 House, New Islington, Irwell Riverside, Manchester

2016 Smith’s Dock, North Shields

2017 Avro, Manchester

1995 Smithfield Buildings, Manchester

1996 Britannia Mills, Manchester

1997 Collegiate, Liverpool

1998 Tea Factory, Liverpool

2005 3Towers, Manchester

2015 Stubbs Mill, Manchester

2007 Rotunda, Birmingham

OUR HISTORY 26/27

We want to talk about the future –

Where we're going 30 – 31 Our mission

32 – 61 Our key messages 62 – 63 What we want to talk about

it’s where we’re going.

SEC TION 02 28/29

We want to deliver exceptional places for people to live and work and better futures for our towns and cities. To do this we will continue to learn, challenge and innovate, we'll champion great design and collaborate with the best creatives and thinkers. We'll be exemplary partners, landlords and employers, we'll adopt the highest standards and provide great service. By working to be the best in everything we do we'll remain sector leaders and continue to be the regeneration partner of choice. Timber Wharf, Manchester

OUR MISSION 30/ 31

01. Rethinking our cities

Cities are made of people and places. We began with small projects that encouraged pioneering people and transformed forgotten places. We've moved from individual buildings to city blocks to future neighbourhoods but our focus has remained on creating better places for people.

OUR KEY MESSAGES 32/ 33

House, New Islington Matchworks, Liverpool

34/ 35

36/ 37

We believe in the power of design to improve lives. Through design we can make sustainability second nature, make healthy living easier, make quality affordable and above all make homes that people love.

02. Live well, by design

38/ 39 OUR KEY MESSAGES

Saxton, Leeds Chimney Pot Park, Salford

Royal William Yard, Plymouth

03. Transforming places

Whether we are finding beauty where others see problems or delivering a future neighbourhood from scratch we think about our impact on the place and the city. Every change, from masterplans to minor details is a change for the better.

4 4/45 OUR KEY MESSAGES

Royal William Yard, Plymouth Park Hill, Sheffield

Lakeshore, Bristol

04. Space with benefits

We have always been a brand for people wanting more than just space. We support and encourage businesses that are looking for exchange, creativity, community and a place where they are proud to say ‘this is where I work’.

50/51 OUR KEY MESSAGES

Tea Factory, Liverpool Timber Wharf, Manchester

Royal William Yard, Plymouth

Innovation is not an aim for our business but a by-product of never accepting the stock answer. We see change as opportunity, not a threat and start with the belief that there is a better way. It is this belief that makes us open to new ideas, intent on learning and enthusiastic collaborators.

05. Established innovators

56/57 OUR KEY MESSAGES

Royal William Yard, Plymouth Lakeshore, Bristol

Chimney Pot Park, Salford

Urbanism/Placemaking/Transformations/ Great design/People/ City building/Collaborations/ Future neighbourhoods/Iconic buildings/New ideas

62/63 WHAT WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT

Our visual identity is our platform –

How to say it 66 Our visual identity

66 Key brand characteristics 67 Content-led approach

68 – 71 How we speak 72 – 73 Our logo

it’s how we talk about and show our ideas.

74 – 75 Partnership lock-ups

76 – 77 Our colours

78 – 81 Our typography 82 – 89 Our print formats

SEC TION 03

90 – 105 Film and photography

Content-led/Confident/ Mature/Understated/Flexible/Customer and partner focused.

Our visual identity is confident and understated, and allows our great places, buildings, architecture, and people to fly the flag.

Our flexible identity is a vehicle for showing great content in a new and compelling way. We have content to show that is engaging; communicating our experience and our ideas about cities and improving the way people live and work.

66/67 OUR VISUAL IDENTIT Y

KEY BRAND CHARAC TERISTICS

CONTENT-LED APPROACH

The way we speak reflects the way we work, and the success of our projects. These are some general principals to remember when writing about, or for, us.

Our rules The way we write, in print and online, conveys the character of our company: edgy, unconventional, radical, bold, collaborative, cosmopolitan, mature, confident, innovative, imaginative, visionary, iconic. Irreverent but not silly, confident without being cocky, conversational and natural without over familiarity. Writing for people We build sustainable communities and rethink how cities work. Our work affects the lives of the people who live and work in the places we make, and attracts people to new neighbourhoods. People are at the heart of what we do; so we write in a relaxed and conversational way, person to person. We write for clients, partners, collaborators, residents and our team – we keep people centre stage. We, us, our and you Always use ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’ instead of ‘Urban Splash’. We are people, not just a name. We are real and have real thoughts, opinions and feelings. The same goes for our audience, they should always be addressed as ‘you’.

Jargon free writing Jargon is confusing and non-inclusive, so it’s best avoided. If someone can’t understand what you’ve written, you haven’t done your job properly. If you really need to use a specific word, make sure it’s explained clearly. Never assume prior knowledge. We avoid trade clichés, especially estate-agent-speak (e.g.. ‘a much sought-after location…’, ‘the dream home you’ve always wanted…’ etc.). Be truthful Facts are your friend – they give context and confidence. Back up quotes and anecdotes with factual information that documents projects and tells real world stories. Be positive Use positive words and expressions wherever possible, rather than negatives. Avoid floweriness and over-use of adjectives and superlatives. Be confident Our successes are born from 25 years experience in placemaking, and the experience and creativity of our team and collaborators. This experience makes us industry leaders. We can back this up in our writing by using examples of our projects. By using examples that reference the points we make we can be confident in our writing. It is hard won wisdom, after all.

Be concise Keep things clear and concise, but leave nothing out. Avoid editorial comment; use interviews and facts to add emotion and context. Statements, not headlines Avoid headlines – use strong quotes and statements instead. Rather than trying to be snappy and clever, we summarise our strong beliefs before following up with more detail. Purpose and medium Think about the purpose of what you’re writing: ‘What information do I need to include? What does the audience already know and will they understand it?’. Think about the medium and how much time your audience will want to spend reading this brochure/web page/advertisement... Looking to the future Avoid old-fashioned words such as ‘whilst’ or ‘hence’ or ‘thus’. We want our audience to see us as innovative and forward looking, not living in the past. Homes, not units We are ultimately talking about people’s homes, businesses and lives.

68/69 HOW WE SPEAK

Our tone of voice avoids being jokey or over-familiar – corporate mateyness can be mistaken for insincerity. But we can be provocative (it's in our nature).

HOW WE SPEAK

Powder- dry wit & Northern grit is in our DNA**but use sparingly in copy.

70/ 71

OUR LOGO

Our logo is one of the most important parts of our visual identity, it conveys our bold character and lets people know who we are.

Our logo Our logo is the visual embodiment of our brand and should appear across all brand communications.

Logo rules Our logo is designed to be easy to use; however, it does come with some rules to ensure it looks its best on every occasion: It should only ever appear in black or white and at no smaller than 15mm wide. It should never be warped, adjusted or re-typed.

72/ 73

Multiply don't divide – Collaboration makes better places for people to live, work and play. Forging partnerships is what we do and we can highlight this through the use of our multiply device.

PARTNERSHIP LOCK-UPS 74/ 75

A hint of blue Our only non-neutral colour is Urban Splash Blue, which should appear in small amounts across all core brand communications.

White White is an important element in our brand and is used as both a colour and spacial component. White creates extreme contrast and helps to make the content the focal point.

Neutrals When working with partners on schemes that need their own identity our neutral colours give us flexibility and a solid base to work from.

OUR COLOURS

Our understated colour palette shows confidence and allows our content to take centre stage.

Black C0 M0 Y0 K100 R0 G0 B0

75% Black C0 M0 Y0 K75 R64 G64 B64

25% Black C0 M0 Y0 K25 R191 G191 B191

White C0 M0 Y0 K0 R255 G255 B255

Urban Splash Blue C100 M45 Y0 K0 R0 G119 B192 Pantone 300

76/ 7 7

OUR T YPOGRAPHY

78/ 79

We’ve got our very own font, it’s called Urban Splash and it’s been designed just for us.

We use Urban Splash Light for writing our headlines. It’s never used for body copy, letters or emails.

The other weights of our typeface can be used when we want to be more provocative in our communications.

LightMediumBold

OUR T YPOGRAPHY

Aa Aa Aa

Univers 45 Light ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz 0123456789

Univers 55 Roman ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz 0123456789

Univers 65 Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz 0123456789

The Arial typeface should be used for emails and Microsoft Office applications.

Our secondary typeface is Univers, we use this as body copy and for longer pieces of text.

OUR PRINT FORMATS

We have a new print size, it’s called Square+ and it’s bespoke to us. It’s our main print format and is used for magazines, brochures, bid documents, manuals, books and more.

OUR PRINT FORMATS

Focal point

The main point of focus of any image used on our covers should be placed within the boundary of the square. The square is our focal point and the area where the largest section of image is visible.

We have created this format to be flexible, allowing the story to be told in whatever way we want, whether that be through photography, pattern, illustration or type.

Cropped or full bleed

Images can either be cropped into the square (1) or fill the whole cover (2). Full bleed images that severely reduce the legibility of any additional information in the 'plus' section should be cropped.

OUR PRINT FORMATS

Scheme magazines

Our scheme magazines should capture the personality of their respective schemes. They should be challenging, eye catching and have shelf appeal.

Square+ grid

Our Square+ grid is the foundation for structuring and organising our content and ensuring our covers are consistent.

Bid documents

Our bid documents also use the Square+ format. They can be produced in either portrait or landscape format depending on what best suits the proposal.

Our book covers do not need to adhere to the same rules as our other publications. Although they share the same grid they do not need to include logos and spotlights.

Joint venture magazines

For joint venture scheme magazines our typeface should be replaced with that of the joint venture brand. A partnership lock-up should also be used in place of our logo.

Spotlights

Numbered spotlights are used on our magazine covers to highlight specific sections of content within the publication.

Typographic covers

When an image isn't suitable we can use typography as an alternative on our publication covers.

Sub headings

Subheadings should always live within the 'plus' section of our cover.

Artwork inspired by Park HillIvor Smith & Jack Lynn, 1961

We also use the Square+ aspect ratio to create other brand communications, from posters and cards to signage and light boxes.

OUR PRINT FORMATS

Common sizes

In some cases a more commonly used size may be more suitable than Square+, such as using the A series paper sizes for our stationery. Always take this into consideration when selecting a format.

We have been around for 25 years now and we have a proven track record of delivering successful and innovative regeneration projects up and down the country. Our new photography revisits our portfolio and celebrates the lasting quality of our spaces.

FILM & PHOTOGRAPHY

Lakeshore, Bristol

Timber Wharf, Manchester Burton Place, Manchester

House, New Islington House, New Islington

Royal William Yard, Plymouth Royal William Yard, Plymouth

100/101

Matchworks, Liverpool

102/103

Saxton, Leeds Saxton, Leeds

104/105

The brand in action –

Concepts 108 – 109 Stationery

110 – 111 Website 112 – 113 Brochures

114 Handover boxes 115 Tote bag

SEC TION 04

visual lookbook

116 – 117 Posters 118 Key rings

119 Adverts 120 – 121 Newspapers

122 – 127 Signage and hoardings 128 – 129 Exhibition posters

106/107

STATIONERY 108/109

WEBSITE 110/111

BROCHURES 112/113

HANDOVER BOXES TOTE BAG 114/115

POSTERS 116/117

KEY RINGS ADVERTS 118/119

NEWSPAPERS 120/121

SIGNAGE 122/123

LIGHT BOX INSTALL ATION 124/125

HOARDINGS 126/127

E XHIBITION POSTERS 128/129

It's our silver anniversary but we won't sit back and wait for the golden years.

130/131

Same attitude. Same values. Same approach. New markets. New challenges. We're doing what we've always done: taking on problems that others avoid, doing what we say we'll do, and doing it with quality.

There's so much we want to do. We're finding amazing new challenges all over the UK, and as we take them on we've grown from a regional business to a national one with over £1 billion of ongoing projects.

OUR FUTURE

2018 is our 25th year, and - amazon s3 › us-website-content › downloa… · on creating...

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